UW Chancellor hopes to resolve adidas dispute

Interim UW Chancellor David Ward said in a statement released Friday that he doesn't believe ending the school's relationship with adidas would be helpful.

Last month, Ward had warned the giant sporting goods company that the school's licensing and sponsorship agreement could end unless steps were taken to pay to repay Indonesian workers who lost their jobs when a plant closed.

The university's Labor Licensing Policy Committee had recommended that the university drop its relationship with adidas.

UW says the factory was owned by an adidas subcontractor. The issue involves the owner of the plant, known as PT Kizone, who fled without paying more than 2,800 workers an estimated $3.2 million in severance. The factory made collegiate apparel, including items bearing UW logos.

In his statement, Ward said ending the school's partnership with adidas would not be productive, "since it does not provide resolution to the severance issue and may put the university in difficult legal footing in the future."

Ward said the university and adidas had elected to try mediation to solve the dispute. He said he believed mediation could work, adding that mediation is required under the existing agreement with adidas.

The mediation will be confidential, he said.

"I want to reiterate that my goal in this issue is to see redress for the impacted workers, while simultaneously mitigating financial harm to our institution by means of a required process of mediation," Ward said.

The university's deal with adidas runs through June 2016 and is worth approximately $2.5 million a year in royalties and equipment.